© Emma Raducanu – Instagram
Emma Raducanu says flying to a tournament for the first time since her surgeries is “a memorable moment” as the Briton hopped on a plane to New Zealand. Raducanu, 21, surgically addressed her injuries to both wrists and her right ankle in May. After undergoing three surgeries, Raducanu missed the remainder of the 2023 season. Earlier this month, Raducanu confirmed her comeback would start at the ASB Classic in Auckland, between January 01-07.
“Memorable moment, off for my first trip post op & feeling good!! Bye London,” Raducanu captioned her Instagram post.
Raducanu backed by Casper Ruud to be a Slam contender in the future
After winning the 2021 US Open, Raducanu started to deal with constant injuries and physical setbacks. In May, Raducanu decided to put an end to her agony and have multiple surgeries to fix her injury issues.
Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, believes a fit and healthy Raducanu could do big things in the game.
“Is Emma fit again? Is she going to play Australia? She’s a potential to probably win another Slam I think, for sure. If she’s doing a good pre-season. [Her game is] explosive. And I think also if you see her moving around on the court, she’s really good. When we watched her win the US Open, that was something that stood out. Her, [Iga Swiatek], I think it’s always impressive with girls that are able to slide around the court because that’s something that is not easy. It requires to be fearless in a way and to be able to do it, it requires quite a bit of fitness. I saw she was hitting some incredible passing shots on the slide and stuff when she won, so that is what impressed me and of course she has all the shots in the bag. I think she has potential because she can move well and hit the ball well,” Ruud told Express-Sport.
